Time in a Bottle
by BookSpaz808
Summary: While dealing with her powers and the ramifications of them, Rogue runs into a familiar face...sort of. Takes place after X2.
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello! I wanted to do something a little different from the usual. To the best of my knowledge, it hasn't been done quite like this before, but don't quote me on that. There's a lot of fanfics out there after all. I think Rogue and Magneto are among the most interesting characters in the X-men franchise, and it's great to get to experiment with them. I do not own X-Men, Marvel Comics, 20th Century Fox, or any of their affiliates.

Forewarning, I haven't published anything on Fanfiction in about five years. I'd love to say that was because I was stockpiling tons of stories...but that would be lying. Forgive me if it's not of the best quality, I'm a little rusty! Enjoy!

~o~0~o~

 _Why did I agree to do this? Shopping isn't that much fun when all your clothes have to cover most of your body,_ Rogue moaned in her mind as she swirled a fry in ketchup. She casted her gaze to her two friends, Kitty and Jubilee, as they sat in the food court gushing about their new purchases.

 _Skimpy purchases_ , Pyro's voiced cackled.

 _Fuck off Bub_ , snarled Logan, _take your nasty attitude and shove it up your-_

"Shut up." Rogue muttered under her breath, squeezing her brown eyes shut and gripping the edges of her chair. The voices in her head had been annoying her more than usual lately. Sessions with the Professor helped, but nothing truly silenced them. Pyro was the most vocal, giving his two cents often, regardless of how many times Rogue had tried to quiet him. For the most part, the Logan in her head was silent, knowing how much the other voices bothered her. He only came out to try and shut Pyro up.

Cody and Magneto were the quietest, however Rogue was sure for different reasons. Cody, even before his coma, was not a very outspoken person. His laidback and quiet attitude was what originally drew Rogue to him. Magneto on the other hand...she could only speculate why Magneto never uttered a word. It wasn't because he was a nice man, his past actions obliterated any chance of that. And he wasn't gone, not by a long shot. He was there in her head for sure. Rogue, although she couldn't hear him, could feel him. His presence drifted through her mind, strongest after one of her nightmares. It was almost as if-

"Rogue are you okay?" Kitty asked her, reaching out her hand and almost touching Rogue's gloved one before thinking better of it.

"I'm fine." The striped-haired girl responded, opening her eyes.

"Are you su-,"

"Yes." Rogue interrupted and stood up. Seeing the slightly hurt look on Jubilee's face, Rogue attempted a smile. "Thanks for asking, I think I need to go to the bathroom for a minute."

As she walked away, she could hear her two friends talking in hushed voices. "Three guesses as to who they're talking about," Rogue muttered to herself, head down.

 _Friends? Are you sure they're your friends leech? Do "besties" whisper about each other behind their backs?_ _You know they are, they're not even trying to hide it._ Pyro's voice slithered through her psyche, injecting poison into every nook and cranny.

"They're just-" Rogue hissed to herself as she pushed the bathroom door open with more force than necessary. The door banged against the wall, startling the only occupant, an old woman drying her hands. Her beady eyes glared at Rogue, taking in every inch of her white-streaked hair and black-swathed body as she shuffled out of the room.

 _Worried? Not about you, more like when you're going to snap Amityville Horror-style. Like that old biddy there. Doesn't know whether to be pissed, frightened, or disgusted. Who knows Roguey-poo, maybe she's all three?_

"Stop it Fireprick," Rogue uttered through clenched teeth as her eyes met her reflection in the dirty bathroom mirror. Haunted eyes met her stare, pupils swallowing up the irises. Silk-gloved fingers clutched the sink, anchoring her shaking body.

 _Why should I?_

"SHUT UP!" Rogue scream echoed through dingy bathroom as she slid to the floor. She pressed the heels of her palms into her closed lids. He never fucking shut up. Never. She never got a moment of peace. Her mind was no longer solely hers, now a cacophony of voices not her own.

 _And whose fault is that?_ Pyro sneered.

"Mine," she whispered, "It's mine."

Rogue heaved a sigh and pulled herself up, thankful nobody had come into the bathroom since her breakdown. Glancing at the mirror again, she turned and left the bathroom. With her eyes on her feet, she didn't see the what was standing in front of her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Rogue gasped. She automatically catalogued where she touched the stranger to make sure none of her deadly skin came into contact with human flesh. When she was sure no skin-to-skin contact was made she looked up. Her gaze met with a broad chest covered in a black turtleneck. Lifting her eyes to the face of the person, she froze.

Those eyes. She knew those eyes.

Her eyes flew to the rest of the face, dread stabbing every inch of her body. A youthful and handsome face accented by a straight nose, beautifully-shaped lips, and ice blue eyes. Eyes that had locked onto hers on the Statue of Liberty. Eyes that starred in more than one of her nightmares.

"Hello Rogue," Magneto said with a tilt of his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

AN: Hello readers, welcome to Chapter 2! Long time no see (and I'm very sorry about that). Honestly, I was expecting maybe three people to check out my story. I'm very surprised that more people actually clicked on it, especially considering that it's a weird pairing. As for updating, it may be erratic, but I'll try my best. However, for right now enjoy and if you have any feedback, let me know!

~o~0~o~

 _"Hello Rogue," Magneto said with a tilt of his lips._

For a second she couldn't move, petrified by the presence in front of her. How was this possible? How was the man who tried to end her life standing before her, but significantly younger?

"How-"

"That my dear," Magneto said, his eyes trailing from the roots of her white streaks to the tips, "Is a story for another day. It is quite the interesting tale though."

"What are you doing here then?" Rogue asked as she placed her hands behind her back and slowly pulled one glove off.

"Shopping. I'm finding myself in need of a new wardrobe. Things aren't quite fitting the way they used to...you can imagine why." He responded and pulled at the cuff of his turtleneck. Rogue noticed that his shirt and slacks were slightly ill-fitting for his six-foot frame.

"The mall," she scoffed, "You seem more like the type to custom order from some fancy foreign boutique."

"Well, I will admit that- oh I think not." Amusement colored his tone as he caught her cloth-covered forearm. "Your diversion technique needs work _mein liebling_. If you'd like, I could give you a few lessons."

Rogue braced her feet and attempted to yank her arm from his grasp.

"Let me _go!_ I don't want anything from you, especially lessons or stupid little nicknames _Magneto._ " Rogue said through gritted teeth. She looked around the area outside the restroom, her heart sinking. The alcove shielding the bathrooms from the rest of the mall was empty, no foot traffic coming through. As far as she could tell, there was no one in the immediate vicinity.

"Are you quite sure Rogue?" Magneto asked, more entertained by her words than offended, "I could teach you things that you've never dreamed of." A teasing glint entered his blue eyes, "And perhaps a few that have."

A frown furrowed Rogue's forehead. He couldn't be implying what she thought he was...could he? And if he was, _oh hell no_ she thought as she aimed a kick between his legs, seeing as he still had her arm in a firm grip. But before her black combat boot, her very heavy and sturdy black combat boot she might add, could make contact, it froze midair. Rogue directed her gaze down to her new boots...that were steel-plated. _Dammit_ she thought.

"Again, I think not. But feel free to keep trying my dear. I appreciate a good fight as much as the next person." he smirked, a playful glint in his icy eyes.

Rogue scrunched her eyes closed, frustration evident in the creases between her eyebrows. She was raised in a conservative household by parents who strictly adhered to the Bible and the Ten Commandments. Taught never to steal, taught never to covet, and taught never to hate. However, her experiences over the past year had obliterated all those rules. By the nature of her powers, she steals the abilities of others. Because of her powers, she covets other's ability to touch. And because of what Magneto did to her on the Statue of Liberty, she has gained the ability to _hate._

"Let go of me!" Rogue hissed through clenched teeth as her eyes opened to laser into his. She glanced down at her suspended combat boot and added, "All of me."

Magneto seemed to roll her words over in his head as he assessed her, paying special attention to her half-raised foot and the forearm in his grasp. "So you can make another paltry attempt to injure me? And on that note, may I ask why you keep trying to attack me? After all, I have made no effort to cause you harm."

She stared at him in utter disbelief. Was he fucking serious? Did he not remember hunting her down, using her and her powers without her consent? Trying to kill her in the process?

Some of the amusement dancing in his eyes dimmed, "Let me rephrase that. I have made no effort to cause you harm _recently_ ," he added.

"That doesn't mean you don't have any plans to harm me in the future," she retorted and tried to yank her forearm from his grip.

"My dear, what I did to you was not for personal enjoyment, it was for the advancement of our kind. It was done to build a better world for people like us," Magneto explained while keeping his hand firmly locked around her forearm. His thumb gently rubbed back and forth over the covered skin of her inner arm in a soothing motion.

"You almost _killed_ me! You would have killed me if Logan and the others hadn't stopped you! And for what, your insane 'plan' for the future? A plan that didn't even work!" Rogue sneered, making yet another attempt to free herself from him. As she looked at him, she didn't think it was possible for his blue eyes to get even more icy and remote. However, after the last word left her lips, his eyes frosted over and his aristocratic features hardened into stoic marble. The hand manacled around her arm tightened slightly.

"Perhaps to you, dear Rogue, my plan may have seemed 'insane,' but at least I took some form of action. I assure you that the time for passivity has come and gone. We cannot simply stand by and continue to let the world treat us as secondhand citizens, as lesser beings. Charles' method had its chance and has proven futile. The time for action is now," Magneto informed her in a quiet, controlled voice.

"But-" Rogue interrupted.

"So yes, I did almost kill you," Magneto began again as if she had said nothing. "But in the process I tried to save the lives of millions. If I had known the machine was flawed, I would have never risked your life. However, if the machine would have performed as it was meant to, I would have done it all again. But before you yet again attack me with your self-righteous argument about how I almost killed you, let me ask you a question. If you knew that the machine was a perfectly viable option, if it could have saved the lives of millions of mutants, and if you were the only one who could operate it, what would you have done? Would you have sacrificed yourself so others could have survived?"

Silence stretched between them and wrapped them in an awkward knot of discomfort. Rogue's gaze dropped to the mall floor, her eyes tracing the dirt-dusted linoleum. She could feel Magneto's eyes drilling into her as he waited for an answer. After a long pause, she opened her mouth to respond when she heard a familiar voice behind her.

"Rogue?"


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hi everybody, long time no read! I'm sorry the chapter is so late, my job has been taking up a lot of time both during the work day and after it officially ends. A big thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed the last chapters. I'm not quite sure if I'm a 100% happy with this chapter and I might tweak it. Let me know what you think!

~o~0~o~

 _Silence stretched between them and wrapped them in an awkward knot of discomfort. Rogue's gaze dropped to the mall floor, her eyes tracing the dirt-dusted linoleum. She could feel Magneto's eyes drilling into her as he waited for an answer. After a long pause, she opened her mouth to respond when she heard a familiar voice behind her._

 _"Rogue?"_

Both she and Magneto jerked their gazes behind him, but didn't see anybody nearby. She knew that voice. Jubilee. Suddenly Rogue felt her other foot slide from the floor and her body plummet, her back rushing to the ground. Right before her spine smacked into the floor she felt a strong arm anchor itself behind her; one hand curled around her ribs while the other still encircled her forearm in a firm grip. Rogue blinked at the water-damaged ceiling in shock as her mind struggled to catch up with her body's movements. Movements that were not caused by her.

"What the hell?!" she hissed at Magneto as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, no longer caring if she touched him with her bare skin. At this point she hoped her shirt would ride up and give him a nasty shock. _Serves him right_ _if it did_ , she snarked in her head.

"Rogue? Where are you?" the another voice called out.

Magneto glanced down at Rogue with a glint in his eyes and murmured, "Oh my dear, this ought to be fun." In a louder voice he said, "Is that your name, Rogue? Is it some sort of nickname?"

Rogue squeezed her eyes shut as she heard footsteps approach them. She didn't need her eyes open to visualize the scene that greeted her friend. Rogue stretched out on the ground. Her body cradled in the arms of a handsome stranger, as if he caught her in the midst of a particularly nasty fall. Manipulative bastard!

"Oh my God are you okay?!" Jubilee shrieked. Rogue sighed and opened her eyes, ready to answer the question, only to find Jubilee's horrified almond-shaped brown eyes not focused on her. Magneto looked down at her, curiosity written all over his features when he felt her body stiffen. Rogue flicked her eyes from him to where Jubilee was standing and back again. His brow furrowed when he realized the question wasn't meant for her. His lip curled in disgust for a moment before he looked over his shoulder and smiled blandly at Jubilee.

"I'm perfectly fine, thank you for asking. Although I would have thought you would have been more concerned about your friend's well-being than mine." Magneto answered as he pulled Rogue up into a sitting position and crouched next to her.

"Well I- I-," Jubilee stuttered.

"Jubes, did you find her?" Another voice interrupted as Kitty poked her head around the mall wall. Magneto turned back to face Rogue, a contemplative look crept across his eyes as he pulled her onto her feet, his left hand pressed her shirt into her back. Rogue jerked away slightly, but his touch followed. Dammit. She glanced up at him and he smirked. The look on his face dared her to try and get away.

Relief flooded Jubilee's face. "Yes, she's right here! She's with…?" Jubilee trailed off, her embarrassed blush slowly fading.

"Max. Max Eisenhardt. Pleasure to meet you," Magneto said with an incline of his head as he held out a hand, "And your name is?"

"Jubilation Lee, but my friends call me Jubilee. Jubes for short," she answered and placed her hand in his free hand. Instead of simply shaking it, Magneto raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it. Jubilee's tan cheeks flooded with color yet again.

Magneto then focused his blue-eyed gaze on Kitty who had stepped out from the wall to stand next to Jubilee. "And did I hear this lovely lady call you 'Kitty?'" Magneto inquired.

"Yes, you're pretty observant Mr. Eisenhardt." Kitty said and raised her hand towards him. Just like he did with Jubilee, Magneto's lips graced the back of Kitty's hand. And just like Jubilee she blushed, a rose hue dusted her cheekbones and her brown hair fell in her face to cover it.

"It's just Max, actually," he gently corrected as he let go of Kitty's hand, "Mr. Eisenhardt makes me sound so...old."

"Well you're certainly not that!" Jubilee exclaimed. Both young women giggled.

A noise of disgust slipped out of Rogue's mouth as she switched her gaze back and forth from her best friends, both charmed by the handsome stranger. Was it so easy for him to fool people? A seemingly kind act and a few over-the-top gestures and her friends were putty in his hands? His to mold and control at whim? No wonder he lead his own evil brotherhood.

"Maybe he is," Rogue loudly said over the giggles. The hand Magneto still had on her back curled into a claw, strong fingers anchoring into her lower back.

" _Rogue!"_ Jubilee's scandalized voice grated on Rogue's already frayed nerves.

" _Jubilee!"_ she hissed back through clenched teeth, "We don't know anything about him. Yes he helped me and we know his name. But other than that, what do we really know?"

"Maybe we would learn more if you didn't attack him! Besides, he saved you from falling and hurting yourself. He did something nice for you and didn't have to. You're being too harsh on someone you've just met, someone who was kind to you." Kitty finished her mini speech with disappointed frown in Rogue's direction.

Magneto simply smiled, "No, no it's quite alright. One can never be too careful these days. Rather overly cautious than foolishly naïve."

"Well regardless, she was being rude to you," Jubilee chimed in with a smile aimed at 'Max.'

Rogue had had enough. " _She_ is still here and doesn't appreciate people speaking for her. I stand by what I said."

Apparently so had Jubilee. "What is with you today Rogue? You've been all over the place today. You came here to shop with us and you haven't bought a thing. We try and talk to you and you don't even listen. When someone does something nice for you, you attack them. God it's like you've got more than one person-"

No one spoke a word.

Kitty's brown eyes were glued to bathroom door as if it was the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. Jubilee had lowered her head so her hair obscured her face, although that thrice-damned blush peaked through the shiny black strands. Magneto darted his eyes from the suddenly mute girls to the one next to him as if he was trying to complete a puzzle that was missing several key pieces. And Rogue? Rogue squeezed her eyes shut, stood stock-still, and seethed.

It wasn't her fault, none of this was her fucking fault. She didn't ask to be a mutant. She didn't ask to be the key instrument in a madman's plan. She didn't ask to run into the somehow-younger-previously-mentioned madman outside a grungy mall bathroom. She didn't ask for the voices that were a side effect of her curse. She didn't ask for the judgment people she _thought_ were her friends passed on her because of it. She didn't ask for any of this, and most of all: She didn't fucking deserve it.

"What was it that you were saying Jubilee, hmm? Would you like to finish that sentence?"

No answer.

"How about I finish it for you. It's like I've got more than one person in my head, right?" Rogue asked in a calm voice while her dark brown eyes swirled with a cyclone of rage and betrayal.

"Rogue," Jubilee lifted her head and began to attempt damage control, "You know I didn't mean it that way. It's just you've been all over the place lately and-."

"Gee, I can't imagine why Jubilee," Rogue cut her off, sarcasm saturated her words. Jubilee lowered her head in shame again.

Through her angry haze, Rogue felt something fluttering against her back and it took her a few second to process what it was: Magneto's thumb slowly stroking her back. Instead of the calming effect Rogue was sure it was meant to have, it just gave her a new target for her fury.

 _Big mistake Metal Man_ , she thought spitefully.

Rogue jerked away from his touch and pivoted to face him, opening her mouth to tell him just exactly what she thought about him- and stopped.

Those puzzle pieces it seemed Magneto was looking for, the ones that would complete the picture of what was occurring between the three young women? It appeared he found them and he didn't like what he saw.

His face said everything. He knew exactly why Jubilee was going to say what she did and why it affected Rogue so much. He knew and even worse, the look in his eyes said he understood what it was like to be judged for personal traits beyond your control. And the absolute worst part for Rogue? She knew, in return, the exact life events that had led to Magneto understanding how she felt.

"I see that I've wandered into a private conversation of some kind and I believe that I will now take my leave," Magneto stated as he shifted his gaze from Rogue to the two embarrassed females. "Ladies," he addressed Kitty and Jubilee with an expressionless voice. "Rogue," he nodded at her and rotated to stand in front of her, blocking her from their view. Trailing his eyes over her, he seemed to ponder a moment before he lifted his hand and gently swept some of her hair underneath her clenched jaw and lifted her head with hair-covered fingers. "It's been a pleasure...bumping into you and I hope to run into you again soon." Magneto dropped his hand from her chin but not from her hair, gently running his fingers through the brown and white strands before he clasped her covered hands between his own. As he did so, she felt something smooth and cold slither inside her right glove and snake its way to rest against her palm.

Rogue shivered despite herself.

After one last glance at Rogue, Magneto walked back into the food court and disappeared behind a gaggle of high school girls heading toward the bathroom. The group stopped right where Magneto had stood and stared, their eyes raking up and down Rogue, Kitty, and Jubilee.

One of the teenagers stepped forward and tilted her head, long brown hair rippled over her thin shoulders in perfect waves. "Excuse me," she greeted the mutants with a smile on her pretty pink lips and a malicious glint in her moss green eyes, "Is there like, a line for the bathroom or something?"

Kitty and Jubilee shifted closer to Rogue, as if to attempt to hide her from what they knew was to come.

Rogue snorted.

 _Now they choose to play protector. Don't question the actions of the nice attractive stranger who happens to be a de-aged international terrorist, but one hint of teenaged bitchiness and it's X-Men to the rescue._

She knew she wasn't being quite fair to her two friends, but come on, hadn't they even _heard_ of stranger danger? Rogue paused for a second to acknowledge that apparently they had heard of it if they were wary of the teenage girls. Maybe it was selective. Selective stranger danger. Rogue's lips curved in a slight smile. Yep. Selective stranger danger perfectly described her friends.

"No, there's no line," Jubilee answered the girl cautiously as she tucked a strand of inky black hair behind her pierced ear, snapping Rogue out of her thoughts. The girl propped one meticulously manicured hand on her slim hip and flitted her gaze between the three girls before honing in on Rogue.

"Well then. I don't know, shouldn't you like, _move_?" she spoke directly to Rogue, widening her eyes and nodding her head as if she was speaking to a toddler.

Rogue felt her hands clench into fists, whatever it was that Magneto gave her dug into the soft flesh of her palm. She hated when people talked to her like she was a child. She was seventeen for heaven's sake, not seven. Besides, she'd been through more in her life than most people ever go through. Certainly more than this spoiled teenager in front of her had or ever would. Before she could stop them, the words flew out of her mouth.

"I don't know, shouldn't you like, _wait_?"

The girl's green eyes narrowed and her over-glossed mouth parted to spit out whatever retort she had brewing in her bitchy little brain when at the same time that another voice spoke. Only this one wasn't one anyone else except Rogue could hear.

 _Not your best comeback, kid_. _But at least you tried to defend yourself_. Logan's gruff voice filled her head, drowning out whatever the other girl was saying. It was only at that moment that Rogue realized that she hadn't heard a peep out of any of her voices since she ran into...

 _My oh my_ mein liebling _. Isn't this an interesting development._


End file.
